Fish Oil Not Linked To Lower Heart Attack Risk: Study

Fish oil supplements may be less effective than previously thought in the prevention of cardiac-related death, a new study from researchers at the University Hospital of Ioannina in Greece shows.

Lead researcher Evangelos Rizos and his team reviewed data from 20 studies on over 68,000 test subjects carried out between 1989 to 2012. The data showed diets rich in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids - found in fish oil - do have some health benefits.

However, taking the supplements cannot be definitively linked to a reduced risk of heart attack and stroke, the study added.

The research contradicted an initial 1989 study showing male heart-attack sufferers were 29 percent less likely to die if they increased the levels of fish oils in their diet.

The study appears in the current edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association.